The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup on May 2, 1967, beating the Montreal Canadiens 3 to 1 at Maple Leaf Gardens to take the Final four games to two. It was the last Cup awarded in the six-team Original Six era, and the Leafs’ most recent championship. The team’s general history is covered in separate articles.
Where this article fits
The general story of the club, from the Arenas of 1917 to the move to Scotiabank Arena, is told in Toronto Maple Leafs history, and the building where the 1967 Cup was clinched is covered in Maple Leaf Gardens history. This article stays with one spring: the 1966–67 season, the Final against Montreal, and what the title meant for Toronto then and since.
The 1967 title was the club’s fourth in six years, according to the NHL. It was also the last Stanley Cup awarded before the league added new teams. That is why people speak of an Original Six era: the Leafs, Canadiens, Bruins, Blackhawks, Red Wings and Rangers were the only clubs in the league until expansion changed it for the 1967–68 season.
A third-place team with an old roster
Toronto was not a favourite. The Globe and Mail’s 2007 look back at the season says Chicago led the league with 94 points, Montreal had 77, and Toronto finished third. The Hockey News adds that Chicago finished 19 points ahead of the third-place Leafs. Coach and general manager Punch Imlach was hospitalized with heart trouble during a ten-game losing streak, and King Clancy, then 64, took over behind the bench. The Globe reports that the team went 7 wins, 1 loss and 2 ties over the next ten games.
The roster was old. Wikipedia says the Leafs’ players averaged 31 years of age, the oldest lineup to win the Cup, and the NHL describes Toronto as the first team with an average age of 30 or more to win it. Johnny Bower was 42, according to Wikipedia, and Allan Stanley was 41. The Globe says Bower was believed to be 42, so his exact age is not firmly documented. Goalie Terry Sawchuk was 37 and captain George Armstrong was 36, according to the NHL.
Imlach ran the club with demands and superstitions. The Globe reports that he wore a green jacket and kept a floor of one-dollar bills in the dressing room. These are stories repeated in memoirs and newspapers, and not every detail can be confirmed from a primary source.
The semifinal against Chicago
In the semifinal Toronto faced the league’s best regular-season team. The Globe says the Leafs beat the Blackhawks in six games, and Wikipedia gives the same result. Sawchuk was hit by a slap shot from Bobby Hull during the series and returned to the ice soon after, according to the Globe. The upset put Toronto into a Final against the defending champions.
The Final, game by game
Montreal, going for a third straight title, was heavily favoured, The Hockey News reports. Coach Toe Blake started the rookie goalie Rogie Vachon over the veteran Gump Worsley. The results, from Wikipedia’s summary of the series, were as follows.
| Game | Date | Place | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | April 20 | Montreal Forum | Montreal 6, Toronto 2 |
| 2 | April 22 | Montreal Forum | Toronto 3, Montreal 0 |
| 3 | April 25 | Maple Leaf Gardens | Toronto 3, Montreal 2 (2 overtimes) |
| 4 | April 27 | Maple Leaf Gardens | Montreal 6, Toronto 2 |
| 5 | April 29 | Montreal Forum | Toronto 4, Montreal 1 |
| 6 | May 2 | Maple Leaf Gardens | Toronto 3, Montreal 1 |
The Hockey News describes how the goaltending shifted. Sawchuk played poorly in game 1 while hurt. Bower shut out Montreal in game 2, and Bob Pulford scored in the second overtime to win game 3. Bower hurt his thigh in the warm-up before game 4, so Sawchuk played and lost. Sawchuk then won game 5 in Montreal and played game 6. Wikipedia says Bower stopped 31 shots in game 2 and made 61 saves in game 3.
The Hockey News also reports a pre-game speech by Imlach before game 6 in which he showed players a pile of cash as a reminder of what the Cup brought.
May 2, 1967: game 6 at the Gardens
The Hockey-Reference box score for game 6 lists the scoring. Ron Ellis scored at 6 minutes 25 seconds of the second period, assisted by Red Kelly and Allan Stanley. Jim Pappin made it 2 to 0 at 19:24, assisted by Pete Stemkowski and Pulford. Dick Duff scored for Montreal at 5:28 of the third period. Armstrong sealed it with an empty-net goal at 19:13, which the NHL describes as coming with 47 seconds left. Sawchuk faced 41 shots and allowed one goal, the box score shows. The NHL credits him with 40 saves.
The Hockey News credits Pappin with the Cup-winning goal, describing a backhanded pass to Stemkowski that was deflected past Worsley. The box score gives Pappin the second goal and Stemkowski an assist, so accounts of exactly how the play unfolded differ in detail, though the final score does not.
NHL President Clarence Campbell presented the Cup to Armstrong, Wikipedia reports. Dave Keon won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player in the playoffs, according to the NHL, despite scoring only one goal in the six-game Final.
What the win meant in 1967
The title came in Canada’s centennial year. The Globe says Expo 67 had opened in Montreal five days before the final game, and that a good seat for the game cost $7. It reports a Cup bonus of $3,000 per player. The game fell in a Toronto already changing, a city that had opened its new City Hall in 1965 and its Bloor-Danforth subway in 1966. These events were unrelated to the hockey, but they show how much the city was building in those years.
The Globe records Bower’s memory of the cheering at the victory parade, which he compared to “the end of war.” The article, written in 2007, adds that Toronto had not won the Cup since.
The Leafs since 1967
The NHL’s own team history says the Maple Leafs have won 13 Stanley Cups, and that the most recent was in 1967. The club played at Maple Leaf Gardens until it moved to the Air Canada Centre in February 1999, a building now named Scotiabank Arena. More detail on those years, including the ownership changes, is in the general club history linked above.
The 1967 players remain part of the club’s identity, and the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto honours many of that era’s players and builders. Its history is told in the article on the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. For current standings, rosters and results, readers should use the NHL’s official sources, since they change every season.
Frequently asked questions
When did the Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup in 1967?
On May 2, 1967, when they beat the Montreal Canadiens 3 to 1 in game 6 of the Final at Maple Leaf Gardens, winning the series four games to two.
Who scored in the 1967 Cup-clinching game?
Ron Ellis and Jim Pappin scored in the second period and George Armstrong scored into an empty net at 19:13 of the third, according to the box score. Dick Duff scored for Montreal.
Who won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1967?
Dave Keon of the Maple Leafs, even though he scored only one goal in the six-game Final, according to the NHL.
Why is the 1967 team famous for its age?
The NHL says it was the first Cup winner with an average age of 30 or more. Wikipedia puts the average at about 31, with Bower aged 42 and Stanley 41.
Have the Maple Leafs won the Cup since 1967?
The NHL’s team history lists 1967 as their most recent championship. Check the NHL for the current season’s status.
Sources
- National Hockey League, “This Date in NHL History: May 2” (accessed October 2026)
- Hockey-Reference, 1966–67 Stanley Cup Final game 6 box score, May 2, 1967 (accessed October 2026)
- The Hockey News, “Pappin credited for winning goal in Leafs’ Stanley Cup clincher in 1967” (accessed October 2026)
- The Globe and Mail, “The Last Great Season” (2007; accessed October 2026)
- National Hockey League, Toronto Maple Leafs team history (accessed October 2026)
- Wikipedia, “1967 Stanley Cup Final” (accessed October 2026), used only for statements attributed to it
Related reading
- Toronto Maple Leafs history
- Maple Leaf Gardens history
- Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto
- Toronto City Hall, 1965
- Bloor-Danforth subway, 1966
Last verified: November 2026
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, November 1). The 1967 Stanley Cup: How the Maple Leafs Beat Montreal. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-maple-leafs-1967-stanley-cup
MLA: “The 1967 Stanley Cup: How the Maple Leafs Beat Montreal.” History of Toronto, 1 Nov 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-maple-leafs-1967-stanley-cup. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “The 1967 Stanley Cup: How the Maple Leafs Beat Montreal.” Last modified November 1, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-maple-leafs-1967-stanley-cup.
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